


Silver

by leen_go (cagedchaos)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: HarryPotter!AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-22
Updated: 2013-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-25 09:55:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10761861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cagedchaos/pseuds/leen_go
Summary: Kris is a bored student at Hogwarts who stumbles upon an interesting find in the Forbidden Forest.





	1. Chapter 1

“As usual, the Forbidden Forest is off limits to anyone who does not wish to die a horrible death.”  
  
Kris Wu rolled his eyes as he played with the sleeve on his school robes, the emerald and silver crest of Slytherin house standing out against the black cloth beside which the badge marked with a single ‘P’, for Prefect, was pinned. The tall male had heard the Start-Of-Term speech for the sixth time this year, and it was a bore, being told the same things every year, though he supposed it was necessary for incoming first years. Frankly, if you asked Kris, saying that the forbidden forest was off limits was practically the same as inviting delinquents to use it as their personal playground. In the one year that he had been Prefect, Kris couldn’t even begin to count the number of students he had to give detention to for wandering off.  
  
It was another five minutes of the Headmaster’s annual announcements before the feast began, silverware filling with an abundance of meaty choices and goblets filling with pumpkin juice. Kris piled his plate high with roast beef, pork chops, potatoes and sausage, drenching it all with a generous layer of gravy before digging in eagerly, humming at appropriate intervals as the rest of his year chatted amicably about their summers while trying not to scowl when a handful of students in his year gloated about learning Dark Magic over the summer holiday.  
  
Kris wasn’t a particular fan of how his House seemed to have the misfortune of having a reputation for producing some of the most well-known Dark Wizards (the most notable of which was Lord Voldemort, defeated by the famous Harry Potter), but he couldn’t deny that this was exactly the right place for him. He didn’t have the brains for Ravenclaw like his long-time friend Lu Han, nor did he have the patience and loyalty signature of Hufflepuffs like his neighbour, Huang Zitao. And most certainly, he was not a reckless _Gryffindor_ , with their pointless heroics and flare for the dramatic. No, Slytherin was exactly where Kris belonged, with his thirst to strive high and need to stand out.  
  
As the last of the treacle tarts disappeared off the serving plates, Kris yawned widely from the hearty feast, and with a nudge from the other Slytherin Prefects, Kris stood up begrudgingly and hollered over the bustling of students clamouring out of the Great Hall, directing the first years towards the dormitories in the dungeons of the castle under the Black Lake.  
  
…  
  
For a sixth year prefect who was at the top of the list of potentials for next year’s Head Boy, Kris spent an alarming amount of time keeping to himself. To be fair, it wasn’t as if Kris wasn’t _friendly_ with his fellow classmates, it was simply that that he never considered any of them to be his _friends_. As far as he was concerned, Kris had only ever had one actual friend.  
  
Lu Han’s and Kris’ respective parents had been best friends from when they were students at Hogwarts, and it was only natural that their children would be picking up broken twigs together, waving them at each other like wands when they were only two years old, falling over their own clumsy feet as they chased each other in their backyards. Kris still remembered when they had received their letters from Hogwarts; the two families had decided to go on vacation together to see the dragons in Romania. It would be another while before Kris forgot the sound of the pecking of two beaks against the glass paned windows at the housing unit that the two families were staying in, something Muggles liked to call “hotels” or something.  
  
The excitement of finally getting a wand overshadowed any nervousness the two young friends might have had as they followed their parents through Diagon Alley, picking up their tailored school robes, required text books and other supplies. Neither boy had even considered the possibility that they would not end up in the same House, so when Lu Han was Sorted into Ravenclaw, it had come as a shock half an alphabet of students later, that Kris had been Sorted into Slytherin. The two best friends had instantly made a promise that the house rivalries would never get in the way of their friendship but the truth of the matter was that Slytherins and Ravenclaws shared little of their time together.  
  
Lu Han adapted to the change a lot easier than Kris with the former having always been the one out of the pair with the welcoming smile and charming personality. Lu Han was easily the most popular in his year with his sense of humour and it certainly helped to have won big in the gene lottery. Of course, whenever there were holidays away from Hogwarts, Kris and Lu Han spent their free time together, often playing mini-games of Quidditch in their backyards (and just as often, getting yelled at by their parents when they sent bludgers through the dining area).  
  
Kris, on the other hand, spent much of his time alone, practicing levitation spells on the pebbles that lined the shore of the Black Lake, or transfiguring tree frogs into gloves at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. And while Kris had to often exercise his Prefect authority to remove rebellious first and second years from the Forest, he often found himself seated on his favourite flat rock in the southeast region of the Forest, quill in hand as he filled feet after feet of parchment with poorly inked calligraphy for homework.  
  
Kris had grown particularly attached to this region of the Forbidden Forest ever since second year when he had escaped detention with his herbologist professor for attempting an enlargement charm on a Devil’s Snare. He had hiked up several miles of uneven land before he reached the slight thinning in the trees where enough sunlight streaked through the leafy foliage and covered the forest floor with a soft glow. After dinner that night, Kris had returned to the spot to get away from his annoying classmates, lying on the moss covered ground to stare up at the stars and using his shed school robes as a makeshift pillow. He had quickly learned that this particular part of the Forest was rarely visited by the local creatures, most of them preferring the cover that thicker regions of forest provided from the sunlight.  
  
…  
  
Kris sat on his rock hunched over his potions essay, quill moving quickly over parchment as he described the properties of Felix Felicis and its effect on its users. Autumn had made itself home on the Hogwarts grounds, and while Kris had managed to spell a Bluebell fire that was hovering near his nose, the sun slowly dipping beneath the horizon was dropping the temperature quickly. Kris finished the sentence he was writing and spelled the ink to dry quicker as he stoppered his half empty flask of ink and put away his school books. With a small flick of his wand, he extinguished the glowing blue flame floating near his head and tucked the wand back into his robes before shouldering his bag and heading down the hill back towards the castle, hoping  that there was still time before dinner would stop being served.  
  
It wasn’t until a fellow Slytherin commented in their Common Room that Kris noticed that he was no longer wearing the family ring his father had given him before Kris had gotten on the Hogwarts Express for the first time. In the practiced calm of five years at Hogwarts, Kris excused himself, walking out of the Slytherin dormitories casually before breaking into a run down the castle hallways, the click of his school shoes against the marble flooring echoing in his ear as he recalled removing the ring before he’d pulled on his mitten at the top of the hill in the forest to avoid getting the wool stuck in the deep set stone.  
  
 _Did I leave it on the rock? Or was it on the dead tree stump to the left?_ Kris picked up his pace as imaginary scoldings by his father began playing in Kris’ head. _That ring has been in the Wu family for hundreds of generations! You should have been more careful! What were you doing in the Forbidden Forest anyway?_  
  
When Kris arrived at his rock, he started to wish that he hadn’t gotten up and left so abruptly that he’d left his wand with his backpack hanging off his bedpost; it was nearly pitch black outside, with only the light of the moon to guide him. Just for experiment’s sake, Kris muttered _Lumos_ under his breath anyway, wondering if he concentrated hard enough, he could procure a light without a wand to aid his search. Getting to his knees and feeling around blindly on the smooth surface of the rock, Kris heaved a heavy sigh when he found nothing and resigned to having to come back the next morning when he would have the help of sunlight to guide him.  
  
With a slight shiver from the brisk night air, Kris got to his feet again, frowning as he started heading down the slope once more. He had just passed the first tree when something glistening under the minimal light of the moon caught the corner of his eye. Encouraged by the sheer billiant luck of finding the family heirloom in this blackness, Kris jogged quickly past another thick trunk before he realised that the silver that had caught his attention didn’t belong to his lost ring.  
  
Kris had only seen the thick silver substance at his feet once before, and it had been a photograph in a book. He stared at it a beat longer in wonder before kneeling down on one leg and hesitantly reaching out to touch the shimmering spot on the ground.  
  
 _Still wet._  
  
Kris’ gaze turned upwards again as he peered shakily through the dark trees in front of him. This was unicorn blood, which could only mean that one of them had been hurt around here. As Kris stood up, his eyes searched the forest floor for any further signs of the animal, attention suddenly peaked at the idea of finding the source; he remembered his Care of Magical Creatures textbook describing the magical effects of unicorn blood on the human body. Indeed, the fact that the Ministry had it labeled as a Non-Tradeable Item made the idea of owning a phial of unicorn blood _overwhelmingly_ tempting.  
  
But before Kris could take a single step forwards, a howl in the distance reminded him about the horrors a full moon could send his way and he hastily made his was back towards the safety of the Slytherin Dormitories.  
  
…  
  
Kris spent the majority of the night staring at the ceiling, contemplating how he would go about searching for the source of the silvery blood before recalling that unicorns could not be approached by males, at least not the adults.  
  
Kris chose not to address that particular obstacle at the moment, deciding instead to make locating the injured animal his priority. Kris found it quite fortunate that the next morning was Saturday, meaning no classes to attend, and plenty of time to explore the forest without anyone asking where he had wandered off to. Sending a couple of irritating first years scurrying away from the edge of the Forest with the threat of detention, Kris made his way up the familiar path until he reached the exact place he’d made his discovery last night.  
  
The silver spot on the ground was exactly where Kris had left it last night, now glistening under the bright rays of the sun. Kris had been prepared to look for some sort of trail, but so his amazement, his sleuthing skills would not be required; the injured creature was curled up on Kris’ favourite rock watching the wizard with a wary eye.  
  
For a moment, Kris was hypnotised with the way the white hide seemed to almost glow against the dark stone, like winter had arrived months too early and a thick layer of snow had already fallen to coat the rock.  The only defining feature on the animal was the thin streak of crimson red hairs amidst a smooth mane of pure white. Its eyes were a deep chestnut brown, and were the only other thing that wasn’t the purest of whites on the mystical creature.  
  
Of course, if Kris was looking for defining marks on a unicorn, the thin stream of thick silvery blood that flowed from a wound straight down his front left leg would definitely be one. Kris cocked his head to the side in realisation that that was also the reason that it had made no move to run away when Kris had arrived, given that he was, well, a _he_.  
  
When Kris reached into his robes to retrieve the phial he’d brought with him, the unicorn’s eyes followed his hand with narrowed lids, glancing back up into Kris’ face with a look of disgust as if it knew exactly what Kris wanted.  
  
“Stop looking at me like that,” Kris muttered, dropping his arm before his fingers could actually close around the tiny flask. He glared right back at the beast with his arms folded in front of him until the unicorn closed its eyes again, turning his head away after apparently deciding that Kris was not an immediate threat to its livelihood.  
  
With a heavy sigh, Kris sunk to the ground where he stood, legs folded under him as he continued to observe the creature from the distance, drawing circles in the dirt with a finger as he stared.  
  
For the better part of the morning, the unicorn appeared to be asleep, lifting its head up only once every couple of hours to look in the direction of Kris with an annoyed air. Not that Kris could be sure, of course; it wasn’t as if Kris was an expert on mystical four-legged creatures.  
  
While the unicorn lied on the rock, Kris wondered to himself why he wasn’t getting up to fill his phial; clearly, the creature wasn’t going to put much of a fight if he did. He had let out a groan more than once, realising that he could’ve finished his potions essay already if he hadn’t wasted so many hours simply _staring_ at the snow-white animal.  
  
It was only when his stomach made a loud grumbling noise that Kris realised that the sun had already made its way to its highest peak in its arc across the sky. The unicorn looked up at the sound and Kris could almost swear that it was laughing at him. “What are you laughing at, you dumb animal? At least I’m not bleeding myself to death,” Kris grumbled, stretching his legs out before him before he got to his feet. “I’ll be back after lunch,” he muttered, wiping the dirt from sitting on the forest floor all morning.  
  
…  
  
Kris didn’t return to the Forest immediately after lunch. Instead, he slipped into the Library and searched the shelves for a book that would teach him about injured unicorns.  The only page of information he found belonged to a thickly bound book that looked like it hadn’t been opened ever since it had made itself home in the old Library. Hesitating but a second about breaking the rules, Kris ripped the page out of its binding with a soft rustling, looking around him to check that he wasn’t being watched before slipping the piece of parchment into his pants pocket. Levitating the book back to its place on the top shelf, Kris left the Castle and headed leaving towards the Forbidden Forest once more, taking care, as usual, not to be seen.  
  
Ignoring the exasperated look the unicorn seemed to be giving him, Kris sat down in the exact place he had been in only an hour ago. Biting his tongue to keep from saying something rude to the lying animal, Kris pulled out the page from his pocket and started reading.  
  
 _Unicorns can survive on the minimalist of foods, requiring only a handful of red berries (shown below) daily._  
  
Kris traced a finger around the illustration with a wrinkled brow, trying to remember where he had seen the fruit in real life. It was another minute before he recalled the stout bush that bore the sweet looking fruit, about a ten minute hike from where he sat now. Kris looked up at the dozing unicorn before turning his head towards the direction of the plant from his memory. Up on his feet before realising it, Kris frowned mildly at the injured animal and started on his way.  
  
Kris returned half an hour later, popping one of the berries into his mouth and savouring the intriguing taste as he plucked a large leaf off a low tree branch, curling it neatly in a cone to hold the berries. When he moved to approach the flat rock to deliver the small meal, however, the unicorn looked up abruptly and stumbled slightly as it tried to retreat away from Kris, almost falling off the rock as the injured leg buckled under the pressure. The unicorn gave a small grunt of protest and Kris stopped in mid-step. He eyed the unicorn with exasperation, “ _Fine_ , starve for all I care,” he growled under his breath. All the same, Kris put down the small meal beside the rock carefully before he stepped back once more and resumed his seated position from a couple feet away, pulling his knees up to his chest as he unfolded the page again.  
  
 _Unicorns have long been known to possess magical properties. The hairs from their tail may be found in wand cores, which produce the most loyal of wands. In addition, unicorn blood has death defying properties and its consumption will keep its drinker alive, even if they are an inch from death._  
  
Kris skipped right past the next paragraph on the laws surrounding unicorn blood and started on the next line.  
  
 _Injuries are uncommon in unicorns, but when they occur, they are difficult to treat. Below are a couple of medicinal plants that can be applied to the affected area which may aid in the healing process. If applicable, a potion made of several well-known and easily attainable ingredients is included._  
  
Kris straightened his posture as he studied the complicated shapes of various leaves and roots, none of which he recognized.  He looked up to glance at the equine creature to find that it seemed to be studying Kris intently with curiosity in its eyes. “What?” Kris bit out, annoyed with the way it seemed to be judging him. If unicorns shrugged, Kris was pretty sure that that was what this one was doing to Kris right now. Kris groaned loudly as he got to his feet, “I have no idea what I’m doing this for. You just keep lying there waiting for death then, you dumb animal. _Goodbye_.”  
  
…  
  
Despite the dismissal, Kris couldn’t ignore the constant curiosity that played at the edge of this mind whenever he had a free moment to think. Annoyingly, he frequently found himself in the library, researching the plants that were illustrated on the page he kept on his body at all times, now wrinkled from the countless number of times Kris had pulled it out to stare at in between classes, after meals, and whenever he could no longer continue the fifteen feet of parchment on the Egyptian pyramids.  
  
The fact that Kris had not visited his favourite spot in the Forest because it no longer belonged to only him made him even more irritated, having to endure the never ending chatter of the Slytherin common room. After being forced to listen to yet another fifth year complain about taking his O.W.L.s this year, Kris slammed his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook closed with an annoyed bang. Glaring momentarily at the guilty party, Kris collected his bag and left his things on his bed before heading towards Greenhouse Three, deathly quiet save for the occasional snapping of the Venomous Tentacula. Grabbing a pair of garden shears with his left hand and reaching into his robes for the familiar page with his right, Kris wandered the rows of potted Mandrakes in search of the required ingredients the potion described on the page and collected them in a cardboard box he’d found on the back wall.  
  
Kris carried the box filled with the necessary ingredients, along with a cauldron he borrowed from an abandoned classroom, up the steep incline in the forest for the first time in three days. The soft rustle of the leaves was a welcoming change to the never ending voices in classrooms, in the dormitory and even in the Library and Kris could already feel the muscles in his back loosening.  
  
“Still here, huh?” Kris muttered at the unicorn when he arrived, grinning when he noted that the berries he had set down on the forest floor days ago were no longer there. “I’ll get you some more later,” Kris commented, laughing quietly when the animal whinnied in half-defiance, clearly annoyed at having to depend on Kris for his nourishment, but resigned to the fact that this was the reality of his current situation. “You really just going to keep lying there, eh? Might as well call you Lay,” he mused out loud jokingly as he set the box down at his feet, pulling out its contents one at a time and lining them out in front of him. Another soft whine from the animal made Kris straighten up, “Okay, jeez, Lay,” Kris scowled, the nickname rolling off his tongue easily. "Last time you didn’t want to eat and now you won’t shut up about it.”  
  
Despite the tone he had used, Kris almost laughed as he disappeared towards the bush again. When he returned to deliver, Lay didn’t try to run away, though it did click its teeth with its tongue disapprovingly when Kris tried to take a closer look at wound, still slowly dribbling a silver trail. “If you won’t let me look at it,” Kris reproached with a slight tone of impatience as he folded his arms across his chest, “How am I supposed to help you? Stupid animal,” he grumbled as he settled behind the line of ingredients beside his cauldron as Lay started to nibble at his food. Drawing up a flame underneath the cauldron, Kris started to work, ignoring the curious looks he received from Lay (who was a male, Kris had learned during his short inspection).  
  
Kris hadn’t even realised that he was now working by only the light of the flickering flame until he stirred in the last of the ingredients, transforming the viscous liquid inside into a pale lavender purple. Wiping his hands on the thighs of his pants, he glanced up at Lay again, who had now cocked his head to the side in contemplation, brown eyes bright with expectation as they followed Kris when he stood up. “I’ll be back tomorrow. This is supposed to be allowed to bubble for twelve hours before I can give it to you.” Kris’ fingers wrapped loosely around his wand as he cast a spell that would keep the fire going through the night without setting everything around it alight when he was gone. “In the meantime, you,” Kris pointed at Lay before hesitating, “Well, I was going to tell you not to move that injured leg, but seeing as you haven’t moved in the least half a week anyway, I suppose that’s redundant.” Kris tucked his wand away before turning to leave again, ignoring the way Lay seemed to be rolling his eyes, “And I’ll bring you some more berries when I come back, okay?” Lay’s only response was to tuck his head into his folded legs while Kris shook his head with a tiny upwards quirk of the lips, “G’night, Lay.”  
  
…  
  
“Good sleep, Lay?” Kris asked, depositing a pile of the red berries in front of Lay before dropping down next to the bubbling cauldron again, its contents now aged to the appropriate velvety indigo. Dousing the flame with a thin stream of water from his wand, Kris pulled the bowl he’d grabbed from breakfast out of his bag and set it on the ground next to the cauldron, ladling the steaming fluid into it carefully before setting it aside to cool as he watched Lay poke his head over the edge of the rock to lick at his small meal.  
  
Lay took a moment to lift his head to watch as Kris carried the bowl and put it down next to the shrinking pile of fruit, glancing between the bowl and Kris with incredulity. “What are you glaring at, Lay? It’s supposed to help with that,” Kris pointed at the injured leg. The unicorn’s tongue flicked out quickly to taste the liquid, and the beast recoiled, glaring up at Kris as if accusing him of trying to poison an innocent animal, spitting with annoyance in the human’s direction.  
  
“It can’t be that bad,” Kris scowled as he reached his finger out to dip into the indigo liquid. Kris immediately took his words back when the foul taste barely even touched his tongue, coughing unconsciously in response. The unicorn snorted as if to say, _I told you so_ , _you stupid human_ before going back to picking at his berries. Kris made a face and pulled the berries out of the reach of the animal spitefully, earning him a dirty glare from Lay before the latter turned his head away, the thin streak of red hair falling over Kris’ shoes. Rolling his eyes at the childish behaviour, Kris nudged the medicine lightly with his foot, letting out a shudder from the memory of the bitter taste. “I’ll make you a deal, Lay. You drink that, and I’ll give you your berries as a reward.”  
  
Lay brayed softly as he turned and looked up with what Kris could only assume to be his best pleading look, eyes glistening with fresh tears. Kris groaned at the expression, “Quit being difficult. I’m trying to _help_ you here.”  
  
Lay turned a glare towards the bowl again in between begging stares at Kris, who only tauntingly dangled the berries from his crossed arms with a disapproving raised eyebrow. Lay’s nostrils flared once in defiance before tipping the bowl slightly and lapping up the entire contents with a couple flicks of his tongue, teeth chattering in disgust as he emptied the bowl, glancing up at Kris and cocking his head towards the promised rewards in Kris’ hand: _I held up my end of the bargain, so now it’s your turn._  
  
Unable to contain the laugh the bubbled out from his throat, Kris switch the container in front of Lay with the leaf that held the berries. “Don’t get all comfortable now. You’re supposed to take it once daily for five days.”  
  
Kris turned to bottle the now cooled fluid and stowed it into his bag next to the bowl. “I’ll be back tomorrow, okay?”  
  
…  
  
By the time Kris poured out the fourth portion, the long gash along Lay’s leg was looking significantly better; the bleeding had stopped completely and the wound had started to heal over.  Lay was clearly feeling well enough to give increasingly annoyed looks at Kris’ way whenever he said anything that the non-human deemed required his judgement.  
  
“What were you doing around here in the first place?” Kris asked as he shoved the silver bowl in front of Lay. “Don’t unicorns usually roam in the thicker part of the Forest?” Kris couldn’t tell if the rude look he received then was because of his question or if it was a reaction to Kris giving him another dose of the awful medicine. “Drink up, loser. Maybe by tomorrow, you’ll be able to actually get up and walk again.”  
  
Indeed, twenty-four hours later when Kris returned to empty the last of the indigo liquid in his flask, Lay was pacing around his rock, though with a slight limp. Grinning, Kris watched as Lay whinnied cheerfully when he saw Kris arrive, curling up where Kris usually sat when the two spent their evenings together with a defiant look that dared Kris to try to make him move.  
  
“You are _such_ a spoiled brat,” Kris muttered, but deigned to take a seat on his rock. “It’s nice to see you back on your feet though, I suppose.” Lay neighed softly again in agreement, waiting patiently for his daily dose of medicine, clearly having forgiven Kris for force-feeding him the disgusting fluid now that it had proven to produce satisfactory results.  
  
“Hey,” Kris voiced softly as Lay started to wash the foul taste from his palette with the berries, “Where’re you going to go after tomorrow when you’ve fully healed?”  
  
Lay made a sound close a grunt and cocked his head to the side, waiting for Kris to turn his head in the same direction, away from Hogwarts and further into the forest, not surprisingly.  
  
Certainly, it had only been just over a week since Kris had encountered Lay, during which the latter had been difficult and was constantly doing the unicorn equivalent of sniggering at Kris, but Kris hadn’t once felt lonely whenever they’d shared the little clearing, even if not a single word was exchanged. The only other times Kris had felt so at ease was whenever he was alone with Lu Han on holiday away from the entire Hogwarts student body. For a minute, Kris felt a stab of abandonment in his chest at the thought of Lay going back to wherever it was that he had come from in the first place. Irritated at the sudden unwelcome sentiment, Kris stood up from his rock and began to pace in an effort to walk off the lonely feeling.  
  
Lay got to his feet as well, trotting forwards noiselessly and cutting Kris off in his path to get Kris’ attention before lowering his head next to the human's hand, a hair’s width away. “What? I haven’t got any more berries with me, you greedy idiot,” Kris responded, opening his hand palm up to prove his point. Lay looked up to roll his eyes at Kris before bending down again and nudging his hand lightly.  
  
 _Wait_ , Kris thought to himself in alarm, hand frozen in place. Lay was _nudging_ him. Kris. A _male._  
  
Feeling slowly returning to his fingers, Kris dared himself to raise his hand slowly, running his fingers through the mane slowly before moving to place his palm fully against Lay’s forehead at the base of the silver horn with a point so sharp it was near invisible. Kris let out a gasp of exhilaration, fingers tangling back down the mane where the streak hairs of red grew.  “You're… beautiful, you know that?” Kris muttered without thinking before blushing deeply when he realised what he had just said. “Uhm, yeah…”  
  
Kris hadn’t thought it was possible, but the unicorn blew a raspberry at Kris’ comment, nudging further into his arm with a gentle whine. Kris smiled widely; this was definitely something he was going to remember for a _very_ long time, even after Lay was likely to disappear after today. “Thanks for hanging around for the past week,” Kris said, hands stroking the unicorn’s long neck even as he realised that Lay had hardly stuck around _by choice_. Kris smiled again, trying to convince himself that this was the perfect goodbye present.  
  
…  
  
The day after Kris had delivered the last dosage was coincidentally also the same day as the first weekend to Hogsmeade, and though he hardly wanted to admit it to even himself, he was especially eager to get away from the castle, to maybe laugh at the tricks and games that he would find at Zonkos.  
  
“Hey, sunshine, haven’t seen you in a while.” Lu Han clapped his hand over Kris’ shoulder as the pair walked with the other students with permission to visit the wizarding village.  
  
“Don’t call me that,” Kris scowled, shrugging off the Ravenclaw’s hand. “And don’t you have a house to look after?” Kris poked at the P on his best friend’s chest that was an exact replica of the one on Kris’ robes, except for the colours.  
  
Lu Han snorted, “You’re one to talk,” he shot back, referring to the fact that Kris had shirked his duties to his female counterpart so that he could sulk quietly on his own. “Care for a Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks?”  
  
Kris hummed quietly in assent, widening his strides as Lu Han started skipping down the snow dusted sidewalk. The tall blond tried not to think about how the early snow reminded him of a pair of bright brown eyes.  
  
…  
  
“So,” Lu Han started, wiping line of foam from his top lip, “Minseok told me about the transfer student that arrived this morning.”  
  
“Uhm, remind me who’s Minseok?” Kris asked blankly, searching his memory for why the name sounded vaguely familiar.  
  
Lu Han rolled his eyes, “Seriously, how do you get through life sometimes? Minseok’s the Gryffindor prefect in our year. Christ, Kris, you need to pay more attention to the people around you.”  
  
“Okay, fine. What was it that Minseok told you, then?”  
  
Lu Han grinned as he took another sip from his stein, “Well, given that Hogwarts almost never takes transfers in the middle of the school year, the kid’s got to have some extenuating circumstances. The Headmaster had him sorted in his office last night and the kid ended up in Minseok’s House.”  
  
“And I care about this… why?” Kris raised an eyebrow, bored as he swirled the golden liquid in his glass absentmindedly.  
  
“Cus the kid’s weird, alright? Doesn’t hang out with guys like himself. Spent his morning with only girls apparently,” Lu Han finished, with a shrug.  
  
“Yeah, that’s super interesting, Lu Han,” Kris replied dramatically with a smirk before rising out of his seat, depositing a couple of coins on the table. “Anything else you have to say that’s _interesting_?”  
  
Lu Han only rolled his eyes as he followed Kris out of The Three Broomsitcks, barely stopping in time to avoid walking into Kris’ back at the foot of the entrance. “What’re you do–  Kris?”  
  
“Uh, sorry about that Lu Han,” Kris muttered, mind preoccupied. “Uhm, I think I dropped something inside. I’ll see you back at the school later?”  
  
“Er, okay…” Lu Han replied, eyeing Kris suspiciously before stepping outside, wrapping his robes around himself against the cold.  
  
Sure that Lu Han wasn’t going to turn around at the last minute, Kris stepped back into the establishment and turned his head to the left where the reason for his abrupt stop sat behind a table in the corner with five other girls seated around him.  
  
“Lay?” Kris whispered to himself as he watched a calming smile spread across a face so pale it was almost white, brown eyes shielded by hair a familiar shade of red that matched the crest with a golden lion emblazoned on the chest of the school vest he wore on top of a long sleeved shirt.  
  
As if on cue, the boy looked up with his mouth hanging open slightly, obviously having been in mid-conversation with the girls around him. Kris barely heard the “Excuse me” that the smiling boy said to excuse himself from his company, only snapping back to himself when he saw the boy get up from his seat and start towards him. Clearing his throat uneasily, Kris scratched the back of his neck and took a step back towards the exit.  
  
“You’re a Slytherin Prefect, right?” Kris heard the soft voice asking, before realising that it belonged to the red head standing in front of him.  
  
“Uhm, yeah.” Kris answered, still too startled at the resemblance of the fragile looking boy to a certain unicorn of pure white to grimace in irritation at the fact that a Gryffindor was talking to him.  
  
“I believe you were looking for this a week ago before you stumbled upon me?” The shorter male smiled widely and held up his hand beside his head, a familiar silver ring circling his middle finger that made Kris blink twice in recognition.  
  
“Lay?” Kris whispered again, eyes scrunched in confusion as his head tilted to the side in wonder as he stared at the Wu family heirloom, momentarily berating himself for having forgotten to search for it in his effort to tend to the wounded unicorn.  
  
The red head laughed softly, eyes folding into crescents and a dimple indenting his cheek as he lowered his hand to his side again, “It’s Zhang Yixing, actually. The Headmaster gave me the name after he helped me last night. I asked him to give me a shot at being human.”  
  
Kris continued to stare blankly. “What?”  
  
Yixing rolled his eyes, “God, you’re slow. How’d you get to be a Prefect?”  
  
Kris stood frozen to the spot for another moment before he broke out laughing. “You’re crazy, you are. That’s not possible.”  
  
Yixing sighed, pulling up the sleeve of his left arm to reveal a long scar along it, “Any of this ringing a bell for you, yet?”  
  
Kris reached out and traced a finger along the ragged line gingerly, a daringly warm feeling filling his chest. “Lay?” he croaked out again, almost afraid to believe, lifting his hand to run his fingers through the boy’s hair, a smile pulling at his lips when he noted it had the exact softness to it as Lay’s hairs had. He let himself laugh a bit too loudly before smirking, “You being a Gryffindor though, that’s going to be a problem. Though I suppose that makes sense, given you were always just as annoying and arrogant as they are.” Kris tucked a stray hair behind Yixing’s ear, only just noticing the streak of silver the peaked from the mess of red; the exact opposite of Lay.  
  
Yixing punched Kris hard in the shoulder before getting to his toes and placing a light kiss on Kris’ cheek. “Just buy me a drink, will yah?”


	2. Side Drabble 1

As Kris climbed up towards the Forbidden Forest, he straightened his Prefect’s pin as he eyed the familiar student who was pacing slowly at the edge, stopping every so often to stare up at one of the giant trees. Clearing his throat as he approached, he put on his best authoritative voice, “Hey. Students aren’t allowed in the Forbidden Forest without express permission from a professor. You’d better head back to the Castle before I have to give you detention, and dock House Points.”

Yixing turned around with a wide smile, dimple prominent on his pale skin, “I’m a Gryffindor, Kris. And you’re a _Slytherin_ Prefect. You can’t dock points from students from other Houses.”

Kris tried his best to keep his expression even, but a slight smirk escaped anyway, “I’m sure I could get Kim Minseok to do it for me then.”

Yixing rolled his eyes, “Oh, please, Kris. Let’s be real. Seokie would probably rather eat his own tongue than agree with a Slytherin to dock his own House’s points.”

Kris scowled, “’Seokie’?” he repeated with disdain, “When did you get so close to him to call him that? I thought you didn’t hang around other males.”

Yixing grinned with a knowing look in his eyes as he snaked an arm through Kris’, “Why, you jealous?”

Kris grimaced as he untangled his arm from Yixing and pushing the Gryffindor away in irritation, “As if,” he muttered defensively as dodge another of Yixing’s attempts to grab his arm, taking a quick glance around him to make sure no one was around to notice. “What’d you want to meet up for anyway? I have things to do.”

Yixing snorted derisively, “Right. I forgot how studious you were when you weren’t taking care of random animals in the Forest,” he retorted, not bothering to give the obvious answer to Kris’ question.

Kris folded his arms across his chest and glares at the red haired fifth-year. “You know, I think I liked you a lot better when you couldn’t talk.”

“Ouch,” Yixing mocked as he reached up to rest his hand on Kris’ shoulder. “Should I shut up and go back to giving you judging looks?” He laughed when Kris uncrossed his arms just so he could remove Yixing’s hand and throw it back at him.  “Geez, you need to relax, Mr. Prefect.”

The older ignored the comment and started into the Forest without Yixing, taking especially long strides in an effort to get away from the annoying Gryffindor more quickly.

“Hey, wait up!”

Kris didn’t bother to turn around to acknowledge the other’s presence as he continued walking, though slightly shortening his stride lengths, pretending to have to step around over-grown trees roots towards his grey rock. A moment later, Yixing was at his side, sliding his fingers in between Kris’ and giving a light squeeze. “Just for the record though, I don’t ‘hang out’ with other guys. I just called him that to see if I could get a reaction out of you,” he paused to smile up at the taller, “And I did.”

 

Kris turned to glare down at Yixing. “You’re a jerk,” he grumbled, which only made Yixing grin even wider as they continued hiking hand-in-hand.


	3. Side Drabble 2

“Is this the only place you _ever_ go to?” Yixing asked as Kris sank onto his rock with a shrug. “You _do_ realise that there’s so much more of the Forest outside this tiny little area, right?”

“Yes, but going any deeper means heading into danger. And I value my life, thank you very much.”

Yixing dropped into a crouch in front of Kris, elbows resting on his knees as he held his chin in his hands.  “You’re so boring, Kris.”

Kris cocked an eyebrow as he reached out and mussed Yixing’s hair, “Oh?”

Yixing pouted as he grabbed Kris’ wrist to make him stop with one hand while the fingers on the other brushed his red hair back into place, hiding the tiny streak of silver. “Let’s go exploring, Kris.”

The older made a face to express his reluctance. “I would very much like to graduate in one piece, Xing.”

Yixing rolled his eyes, “Ah, Slytherins. You’re a brave bunch aren’t you?” he mocked and, with his fingers still firmly wrapped around Kris’ wrist, he pulled the tall male reluctantly to his feet.

Kris scowled and pulled his arm back to himself indignantly, “Let’s see how brave _you_ are when we come across some beast of the Forest.”

“You forget that the entire Forest was my home before I got injured,” Yixing reminded, picking a direction at random and starting to walk.

“So? That was before you became human,” Kris mumbled as he started to follow behind.

Yixing narrowed his eyes as he turned around to face the tall male, walking backwards with an ease that baffled the older, “What, you don’t trust me?”

“You’re a Griffyndor,” was Kris’ immediate sarcastic response which earned him an irritated glare from Yixing. Kris cleared his throat and averted his eyes awkwardly to watch a butterfly skirt along the forest floor before disappearing around a large shrub. “Of course I do,” he muttered almost inaudibly under the light rustling of tree leaves in the breeze.

Yixing grinned widely, “Good. Then we’re going.”

Kris put on another frown he didn’t really mean, “Fine, but can you _please_ turn around so you don’t trip over an overgrown tree root or something?”

“Why? Are you worried I might hurt myself?” Yixing laughed, crossing his arms on his chest and stepping over a fallen branch without having to look down.

“Worried I’ll have to lose more studying time to make another healing potion for you,” Kris answered with another scowl, eyes focused at Yixing’s feet that stepped gracefully around uneven bumps in the ground. When the younger noticed, he purposely closed his eyes and continued to walk backwards effortlessly, dodging an overgrown tree root until Kris cursed out loud. “ _Stop that!”_ he bit out in frustration. “It’s freaking me out. Can’t you act a little more human?”

Yixing’s tinkling laughter sent a flock of birds that Kris didn’t recognize flying from a nearby tree. “Would it help if I pretended to trip every so often so you had to catch me?” Yixing suggested jokingly as he turned around again and linked his arm through Kris’. For effect, he stumbled over his own feet and pretended to fall away from Kris, who instinctively held an arm out to grab him.

“ _No_ ,” Kris answered emphatically when he realised Yixing was just playing and proceeded to shove the redhead away from his side. A pang of guilt and worry immediately found itself home in his chest when Yixing fell into a tree, knees folding under his weight as he sunk to the ground with a pained expression and a hand gripped around his ankle. Kris was at Yixing’s side in a second, crouched next to him with concern plain in his eyes as he reached an anxious hand out. “Are you okay?”

Yixing kept his head ducked as he sat down fully, hand still wrapped around his ankle. When Kris realised that Yixing was shaking with poorly contained laughter instead of pained tears, Kris groaned and smacked the other’s arm, “That is _not_ funny, Yixing. I was actually worried.”

Yixing cleared his throat as he looked up, laughter ceasing but amusement still pulling the corners of his mouth towards his ears, “I’m sorry, Kris. I won’t do it again,” he managed to say with an almost straight face before he had to cough to cover up another emerging laugh that made Kris glare at him harder. “But hey, look at the bright side,” Yixing continued and Kris raised an expectant eyebrow. “Now you’re close enough for me to do this.”

Kris’ forehead crinkled in confusion, “Do wh-” he started to ask as Yixing leaned over to brush his lips against Kris’ briefly before pulling back with a smile playing on his lips.

“Do that,” Yixing answered easily, grinning even wider when Kris’ ears turned a violent pink. “Now, you just going to squat there all day or can we start moving?”


End file.
